Kuwait court annuls 2022 parliamentary election
March 19, 2023
Kuwait's consitutional court on Sunday annulled the parliamentary election held in 2022, state media said.
The court ruled in favor of reinstating the previous parliament, which was disbanded in June last year.
"The Kuwaiti Constitutional Court issued a verdict on Sunday annulling the results of the 2022 National Assembly elections," the official KUNA news agency said.
The court cited discrepancies in the decree dissolving the previous parliament as the reason behind the verdict.
Lawyer Nawaf Al-Yassin told the Agence France-Presse (AFP) news agency that the ruling followed several electoral appeals.
"The appeals relate to the invalidity of the electoral process, the decrees calling for elections, and the decree dissolving the previous National Assembly," he said.
Although Kuwait is the only Gulf Arab state to have a fully elected parliament, the ruling Al Sabah family appoints the prime minister and Cabinet and can dissolve the Kuwait Assembly at any time.
What is the political situation in Kuwait?
Opposition candidates, including conservative Islamists, won 28 out of 50 seats in the election in September 2022, giving them a majority in the Kuwait Assembly.
The vote in September was the second election in less than two years. Kuwait's opposition accuse the government of graft and mismanagement.
The election was seen as a mandate for change amid prolonged gridlock between the Cabinet and the 50-member Kuwait Assembly.
In January, Kuwait's government resigned after only three months in power due to disputes with the Assembly. This was the sixth government in three years.
sdi/jcg (AP, AFP)